Title: Back at One
Author(s): y0ungalaska & BrennaAimee
Rating: Ranging from PG to M
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. We own nothing but our ideas.
Summary: "It's so incredible, the way things work themselves out and all emotional once you know what it's all about."
It had been two long and stressful weeks, but both women were driving themselves insane simply sitting around the house. So, the next best thing was for both of them to return to work full-time. Although Callie had been working a little from home, she needed to get back into the office and Arizona wanted to be out, interacting with people and doing her job. There were houses to sell and people looking to buy. She wasn't fully healed yet, but if she waited any longer, cabin fever was going to get the best of her. She'd been back to the doctor's and her ribs were healing faster than expected.
She was ready.
As she walked through the residence, she wore a smile on her face that would fool anyone who didn't really know her. That morning, she was ready to jump back in the swing of things, but now on her fourth house of the day, Arizona was beginning to doubt herself. She could see the couples trying hard not to stare at the fading bruises around her neck, but she pushed through them and sold two out of the four houses.
"The house is very modern; two years old, actually." Arizona spoke to the couple as they followed behind her. Still uncomfortable in certain situations, she stopped and allowed the couple to make their way into the kitchen. "All appliances are stainless steel and the counter tops are black granite. The entire kitchen is accented in white to bring out the white specs in the granite. Also," Arizona made her way over to the bar, "these stools were actually hand-carved by the previous owner. It's adds a nice touch to the space." She finished her speech with a smile that failed to reach her eyes. Her game wasn't back to par, but she was definitely getting there.
She watched as the couple made their way around the space in opposite directions. Standing by the door, she looked over more of the information on the house, just in case the couple decided they wanted to backtrack through a previous room of the house. Within a few moments, she looked up and noticed that the couple were both standing in the middle of the kitchen, looking directly at her. "Do you have any questions? Would you like to go through the…"
The husband, Mr. Thomas was the first to speak up, "We do, actually, but it's not really about the house…" He let his words linger.
"Oh." was the only reply Arizona could think to give. It wasn't the most professional, but it got the job done.
"Are you okay, Ms. Robbins?" The wife asked as she looked up to her husband for support.
"Of course, I am." The blonde answered and offered a small smile.
"It's just that," the wife began, but the husband finished her sentence, "well, you have bruises and we were just worried. If you need any help or anyone to talk to you, you know, we're here. My wife is actually a relationship counselor…"
Arizona took in a deep breath and raised a hand to stop him, "Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, I appreciate your offer, but I assure you, I am fine." Proud with her answer, Arizona looked down as she straightened out her blazer before looking back up and putting on the biggest smile she could muster.
"It's just that I've seen these kinds of…bruises before. And I …" Before Mrs. Thomas could continue, her husband grabbed her softly by the arm and leaned into her, "Honey, if she says she's fine than she's fine." He offered a comforting smile to Arizona.
Arizona stoically locked her eyes on his hand, which was still softly gripping his wife's arm. It was the smallest of things, but it caused a big reaction within her. A small touch and a look supposed to comfort her did just the opposite. She could feel her body slowly start to shake and she willed herself to keep calm until she could get out of there. She had one more house to show, but she was sure someone could take over for her. The one thing Arizona needed was to get out of the public and into a place where she felt safe. She needed to go home.
"Well, we are definitely interested in this piece of property," Mr. Thomas spoke with a quick change of subject, "If you don't mind, though, we'd like to take the night to think it over and we'll give you a call tomorrow?"
"Absolutely," Arizona spoke. As much as she loved selling houses, her mind was anywhere but making the sale. The only thing she could think of was hopping in her car and speeding home, getting inside and locking the door behind her, maybe a glass of wine and some music. She needed calm more than she needed to sell this house. She followed the couple out to the front of the house and after locking up, she turned to them and handed out her card, "My office number is there and also my cell, whenever you're ready."
"Thank you, Ms. Robbins. We'll be sure to give you a call tomorrow." Arizona watched as the couple entered their vehicle. Smiling as Mrs. Thomas gave a friendly wave, she looked on as they took off down the road. Sighing to herself, she got into her own car, making sure to call and set up the next showing with Barbara Stratford before making her way home.
Arizona sat in the living room of Calliope's house. Yes, she had been staying there and it seemed very permanent, but she couldn't bring herself to call this her 'home' just yet. Though, she was very grateful to Callie for allowing her to stay. If she were to be completely honest with herself, she felt safest behind these walls with the Latina, and moving out on her own just didn't seem right at the moment. Not to mention, she'd be scared shitless in a house all alone.
Turning the music up on the home stereo, Arizona walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of white wine. Taking a sip, she breathed out and looked around. It was only three-thirty in the afternoon and she had a few hours before she would start dinner.
Smiling to herself, she began looking around the kitchen, making a mental note of what she would need. It had become a routine for the two women, Callie would make breakfast before work and Arizona would make dinner because she was usually the first one home.
A couple of hours later, Arizona was dancing with her third glass of wine and taking her time making dinner. Looking at the clock, she realized that it was almost six p.m. and Callie would be home soon. She walked out of the kitchen and into the living area to change the song on the stereo before making her way back into the kitchen. While stirring the sauce for the pasta, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Arizona, hey." Callie's voice rang from the other end of the line.
"Hey! You on your way home?"
"Actually, that's why I was calling. It seems as though I have to stay here a bit longer. I should be home by seven thirty at the latest, but we have an emergency meeting."
"Oh okay," the blonde tried to hide her disappointment behind a smile, "well, dinner is about to be ready. Want me to put it in the microwave for you?"
"Sure thing. Thank you, Arizona and I'm so sorry. I'll be home soon, I promise."
The two women said their goodbyes and Arizona stood, alone, looking around in the kitchen. An hour and a half. She could survive an hour and a half alone at night.
Sitting at the island with her half empty glass of wine, the blonde picked at her plate and slowly ate her dinner. She couldn't help but watch the clock as the minutes ticked on slower than usual, or so she thought. After thirty long minutes and finally finishing her dinner, the clock ready six forty-five. The thought of Calliope coming home soon made the blonde a bit giddy. She wasn't sure whether it was the wine or just the fact that she missed the Latina, but either way, the thought made her happy.
Deciding to wash her dishes by hand, Arizona stood over the sink, lost in her own thoughts and mindlessly scrubbing at an already clean plate. Out of nowhere, the sound of a loud bang brought her out of her thoughts and caused her to drop the plate in the sink. Her body immediately stiffened and though her head was willing her to move, her body refused to listen. Closing her eyes, she began a bout of labored breathing and before she knew it, tears were slowly making their way down her face. Placing her hands on the sink, she looked down and silently berated herself for being so stupid. It was probably just a car door or something, she thought to herself. Even with all of the personal pep talks and breathing exercises, she still couldn't shake the feeling of fear that ran through her. Chills made their way down her spine only heightening her fear.
She had to be strong. She had to overcome this feeling. James was in jail, this she knew, but it still didn't stop her from reacting as though he weren't. Slowly, she turned around, hands still on the sink to brace herself and silently whispered encouraging words to herself. "You can do this, Arizona. Simply walk into the living room and make sure everything is okay. You're most likely overreacting. The doors and windows are locked. You're safe. You are safe." She repeated the last words before timidly making her way through the kitchen and into the living area. Pulling the sheer curtains back from the window, she looked around the outside perimeter and realized that the neighbors across the street were having company. Sighing to herself, she let the curtains go and took a seat on the couch, placing her head in her hands.
This was ridiculous, she thought as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. Calliope would be home soon and she would no longer be alone. As much as she could try to be brave about the situation, a part of her still wanted nothing more than to witness Callie walking through that door. Again, she yearned to feel safe.
After twenty more minutes of busying herself with cleaning up the kitchen, she heard the front door open and stiffened but soon relaxed when she heard Callie's voice ring out through the house.
"Arizona? It's me. Sorry I'm so late. Ugh, work ran late and that meeting got out of hand," Callie spoke as she made her way through the house and into the kitchen, "I had to handle it and before we knew it, it was…" she let her voice trail off as she watched Arizona standing over the sink. "Hey, you okay?"
Arizona nodded and turned around to offer a smile. She didn't want to seem over excited, but she couldn't explain how happy she was that Calliope had made her way home.
"How was your day?" Callie asked, taking a seat at the island.
"Interesting, to say the least. Are you hungry?" Arizona asked avoiding Callie's gaze and question, already starting to take the food out and dish up a plate for the taller woman.
"Starved. I haven't eaten since noon." Callie smiled when Arizona placed the plate in front of her. "This smells so good."
"Doesn't taste too bad, either." Arizona smiled and watched on as the Latina semi-devoured her dinner. "Wine?"
"Arizona, are you spoiling me?" Callie asked with a chuckle.
"Not at all. Just happy to have you home. That's all." She couldn't hide the emotion that hid behind her eyes as well as she'd wanted, but she'd hoped that Callie hadn't caught on.
"Hey," Callie sat her fork down and rose to her feet, "what's up? Talk to me." Callie grabbed Arizona's hand wanting her to look at her.
The sincerity in Callie's voice caused the blonde's tears to fall before she could even stop them. Turning on her heels, she lay her head on her friends chest and allowed herself to let out all of the emotion that had built within her throughout the day.
Callie slowly walked them into the living room and sat them both down on the couch. Pulling back from Arizona, she wiped a wave of tears away before speaking, "That bad, huh?"
"It wasn't even bad. Nothing that happened today should have made me feel this way. I feel so…helpless."
"You aren't helpless…Tell me what happened?"
Arizona sniffled a bit and took the tissue Callie handed her. "Well, I was at work and I was showing my third house. Things were going good until the couple noticed the bruises on my neck and immediately asked me if everything was okay. I handled myself well, or at least, I think I did. But then, he softly grabbed his wife by the arm to get her to stop asking me questions, you know? And I froze. I didn't know what to do. I mean, one single, tiny gesture brought back so many memories for me and it took me a moment, but I got it under control. I immediately needed to be safe. So, I called Barbara and gave her my last showing and I came home."
"Oh, honey," Callie supportively rubbed her hands up and down Arizona's shoulders.
"And then, you called and told me that you were going to be late. I had dinner and as I was washing my dish, I heard this loud bang and I froze. It took me a while to get myself to a place where I was brave enough to check out where the sound came from. Turns out, it was just a car door across the street…," Arizona's shoulders slumped as she leaned back into the couch, "It's so stupid, Calliope. I am a very capable, very independent woman. Or at least, I was. And now, I can't even stay at home by myself or be at work without freaking out. I can't live like this." She finished the statement with a shake of her head.
"Arizona, it's okay. Things like this are going to happen. Certain movements, certain sounds are going to trigger memories for you for a long time. It's natural. You shouldn't feel bad about it. And if you're not ready to go back to work, you don't have to. I would rather you feel safe and have the time to fully heal than to watch you throw yourself back into things and have them stifle your recovery. Let me take care of you."
Arizona looked over to the woman beside her and Callie offered her a smile. "Really, It's not a big deal. Besides, I love taking care of people. I always have and it will give me something else to focus on besides the tornado that has become my life."
"You don't have to do that, Calliope. I can do this. I just….I need to get back into the swing of things."
"Well, while you're getting into the swing of things, I'll take care of you. Until then, you're going to focus on getting better and realizing that he can't hurt you anymore. Once you feel safe enough and strong enough, you can go back to work."
"Is that an order?" Arizona asked, wiping her puffy eyes.
"Actually, yes, it is." Callie laughed and Arizona joined in.
"Thank you, Calliope, really. I don't know what I would do without you."
Arizona leaned in and wrapped her arms around her friend, reveling in the feeling of security she received in Callie's arms. Callie's arms were her safe place and she knew with being able to be there, she would get better. No matter how long it took, she would focus on getting better and she knew that somehow, things would work out because no matter how many times she stumbled, the woman beside her wouldn't allow her to fall.